Thursday 9 February

The US lurches towards a government shutdown as president-elect Donald Trump torpedoes a bipartisan spending bill. Plus: the EU takes the UK to court. Then: the best films of 2024 and what to eat and drink over the holidays.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, presents her budget to parliament and her image of Italy as a stable, fiscally responsible country in the EU. Plus, the UK becomes the first country outside the Asia-Pacific to sign a trade deal in the region. Then, our final edition of ‘Th ...  Show more

Airdate May 9, 2021: Former Defense Secretary Bob Gates talks about Biden’s pressing foreign policy issues – from the prospect of a Taliban takeover in Afghanistan to China’s brinksmanship in Taiwan. Then, the Lancet says India may suffer 1 million COVID deaths by August 1st; Far ...  Show more

Fareed talks to The Economist editor in chief Zanny Minton Beddoes and Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer about some of the biggest global stories that transformed the world in 2022; from the war in Ukraine, to tensions over tech between the U.S. and China, and the bedlam that h ...  Show more

China pushes ahead with the largest-ever expansion of its nuclear arsenal, while Asean nations discuss a nuclear-free zone. Also in the programme: men in Belarus are summoned for military training and tensions are rising between Serbia and Kosovo. Plus: the business news with jou ...  Show more

The end of China’s zero-covid restrictions was meant to revitalise its economy. But the rebound has fizzled, resulting in weak growth and deflation. Chinese consumers are not spending—and that is a problem for policymakers. David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, and ...  Show more